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I have read the website and the posts on here about Vibram FiveFingers. I am curious if someone who stands all day for work (with no sitting at all) would benefit from wearing these? A friend of mine has a lot of pain in feet and back. I haven't read anything that specifically addresses the benefits of wearing VFF for people who are nurses, hair dressers, chefs...

Does anyone have any experience with this?

After wearing these for a long time is like you can't "go back" to conventional shoes because your feet have changed?

I would like to get a pair, but I have no issues with my feet, just seems like the "natural" way to go.

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5 Answers

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I used to wear heels almost every day to work (for desk jobs though) and every weekend when I went out; now I wear minimalist shoes (VFFs and Sanuks) as much as possible. Last weekend I wore a pair of wedge heels for maybe 4 hours, and my feet were hurting when I took them off. Might just have been because I am more in touch with the discomfort, not necessarily from my feet changing; I dunno. You should try em out, I wear mine anywhere I can get away with it ;) Also, last time my boyfriend was at Hudson Trail Outfitters, he told me all the employees were wearing Vibrams!

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Unfortunately, people who have to stand on their feet all day can't afford to leave their feet unprotected. I worked construction and now work as an EMT. I had to wear steel toe boots before and now I have to wear boots that I can keep clean and sanitary. All the hospital nurses wear shoes that can be tossed into a dishwasher or wiped down with santi-wipes. VFF are not conducive to that sort of level of sanitation. Which BLOWS because I absolutely love my VFF and wish I could wear them to work.

But by wearing my VFF everywhere else, I'm still strengthening my feet and while wearing normal shoes can be uncomfortably by the end of the week, you can mitigate this a bit by buying a size larger or maybe wides to allow your feet more room to spread inside the shoe. Plus life just feels better in the VFF so that's as good a reason as any to buy a pair.

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You can throw Five Fingers into a washing machine just fine, so sanitation isn't the concern you make it out to be. The only reason you wouldn't want to put them into the dishwasher is because of the heat cycle - they should be air or tumble dried. – WyldKard Feb 24 2011 at 17:37
Even the hot water cycle in a washing machine does not get hot enough to kill germs. The detergent might reduce surface tension enough to just wash the germs off, but there is no guarantee of that. I would not want to wear shoes in an infectious situation that I could not sterilize afterward. Hospitals are breeding grounds for MRSA and similar. – Dana Feb 24 2011 at 17:52
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If a patient has CDiff or MRSA, you can't "wait till you get home to throw your show in the washer". You need to wear shoes that can be sanitized immediately and as much as I love VFF, I would never wear them to work. Any field that involves blood, feces, urine, vomit, and easily transmissible diseases you can't afford to put your health and safety at risk. – Joe Feb 24 2011 at 18:38
Dana, if your washer doesn't get hot enough, throw the shoes in a zip-lock bag and throw them in the freezer for a bit. Joe, in those situations, Crocs or similar may be better because you can wipe them off with cleansing pads, but you're not going to be throwing them in the dishwasher at work, either. Plus, most nurses I've met wear tennis shoes, which are no better than Five Fingers. If the nurses at your hospital are required to wear non-fabric shoes, that's great, but it's far from an industry standard. For /most/ folks, Five Fingers should meet any cleaning requirements. – WyldKard Feb 24 2011 at 18:55
I'm a nurse and we don't sterilize our scrubs either. Just washer on hot. – Joshuwala Nov 17 2011 at 23:53
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I am an office worker (programmer) who stands all day at work in my Vibrams, for about 9 months now. No problems. I can't say if they were "beneficial", but I can say that it can be done.

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Arguably, everyone who spends time on their feet can benefit from Five Fingers. They may initially complain about the lack of padding, but once their foot muscles begin to build up, they'll find minimalist shoes not as uncomfortable. Many people who spend time standing most of the day (like hairdressers) also stand on cushioned mats, so their feet won't get that sore initially even in Five Fingers (but they'll still be able to better feel the ground beneath their shoes). A lot of back pain issues can be resolved by properly standing, which most "traditional" shoes don't let you do, because they leave your feet squeezed and heel raised.

Do your feet change after wearing Five Fingers for awhile? Certainly, but not to the point where you can't wear "normal" shoes again. You'll quickly find, though, that having to wear normal shoes isn't as comfortable as Five Fingers, so you'll be less inclined to /want/ to wear other shoes after wearing Five Fingers for awhile.

We wear Five Fingers almost exclusively when not at work (unless we're going out to a fine restaurant or something), but have to wear dress shoes at work. We hate our expensive business shoes now, but there's no physical reason we can't go back and forth (other than the fact that it's "better" to wear the Five Fingers from a biomechanical perspective).

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I wear SoftStarShoes RunAmocs, and I'm still strengthening my feet. Standing on hard surfaces for hours at a time is painful. I'm wearing them for everything, but here at work it's difficult. Still, I'm going to keep trucking in the hopes that once my feet adapt they'll be stronger. – ryan Feb 24 2011 at 17:53
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I got rid of my sit-down desk months ago in favor of a stand-up desk. I very rarely sit during the day.

I wear Vibrams daily. It feels beneficial to me. :)

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Wow, that's cool. You actually are using a stand-up desk as your preference. I like that. – FanOfSunshine Feb 24 2011 at 20:51

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